Date: Sat, 27 Aug 2011 06:57:01 -0700 (PDT)
From: Daniel Running-water
Subject: The Heart of a Warrior/ Chapter Seven/ Interracial
The Heart of a Warrior
By
Daniel Running Water
Edited by
Jim Running Bear
Chapter Seven
List of characters:
Strong Bear 60 Chief
Yellow Hawk 40s Strong Bear's husband
Hawk aka Thomas Hawk 33 Strong Bear's son
Shadow aka Trevor Spenser 33 Twin brother to Hawk
Jacob Mathews 30 Secretary to Kyle and also his lover
Flaming Arrow aka Clark 31 Married to Hawk
Moon Shadow aka Jason 16 son of Shadow and Moon Dancing
Captain Bradley Anderson 38 Army doctor
Alexandria, Virginia 1920
Jason gulped as he stood looking up at the grand mansion, which once was
his home when it had belonged to his father's Uncle Kyle. After years of
listening to his father and Uncle Hawk secretly talking about how to seek
revenge on Jacob, for indirectly causing his suicide and tarnishing his
name, Jason had decided that he would seek revenge for them, because he did
not want his father or uncle being caught and consequentially hung.
"I am doing this for you father, and also for you Uncle Hawk," he whispered
as he stealthily made his way across the lawn toward the back of the
mansion, being careful to watch not only the windows of the house, but also
to watch for any guards.
Panting heavily from running and also from the heat, Jason stood with his
back to the wall beside the door. Suddenly the door opened and out came a
large black woman, tossing water from a basin. When she turned, she jumped,
having been startled by Jason.
"What is you doing thar boy?" she asked, wiping her brow with the end of
her apron. "Is you that boy that massah hired to clean the fireplace
bricks," she asked, eyeing him suspiciously, wondering in her mind why he
looked so familiar to her.
"Yes'm," Jason lied, now happy to have found a reason to enter the house.
"It's about time that you gets yer skinning white ass here," she snapped
and then smiled at him. "Don't pay Miss Bessie no mind, it's so hot and I's
just plumb warn out from the heat." She led Jason into the house, eyeing
his body, worrying about his safety around Jacob.
Bessie may be the cook and maid, but she knew how evil Jacob was and she
even knew his secret. Having been in the garden that very day that poor
Billy had been raped and killed, but being black, she kept her mouth closed
about what she saw.
"I still got to do the upstairs cleaning, so why don't you start there,"
she advised, handing Jason a bucket and a bottle of brick acid to clean the
bricks. "Now you's just be careful not to get that stuff on massah Jacob's
carpets," she warned, Jason nodded and then followed her up the back stair
case to the second floor.
"Is the master in," Jason asked casually. "I would hate to disturb him," he
added.
"Massah is in his study interviewing someone," she told him, leading him
down a long hall to one of the bedrooms and his mind began to remember the
times he spent exploring the many rooms of this house.
"You can start with this here room, because if'n massah decides to hire a
new aid, he's giving him this here room to sleep in," she instructed and
stepped over to the door to leave.
She paused and looked at Jason, as if debating to say more to warn him
about Jacob's lust for boys, and after much thought, she did.
"If'n you should meet up with Massah Jacob, you just be sure not to let
yourself be where you's cain't get away," she warned.
"Yes'm... but why?" Jason asked.
Bessie pulled Jason close and before talking she looked out into the hall,
making sure that Jacob was not within hearing.
"All's I is saying is that the man is evil, pure evil, and I don'ts want
you to end up like that poor boy...," she whispered and gasped, fearing
that she may have said too much.
"Do you mean Billy... that boy that was raped and killed here two years
ago," Jason asked and Bessie's face showed her shock.
"You's heard about that terrible thing that happened to Billy, did you?"
"Yes'm, most everyone heard about that. But my daddy didn't believe that
the senator killed the boy, he always said that it was the senator's
personal aid Jacob," he said, feeling that he could trust Bessie, and
gather the proof that justified what he was planning to do.
"Your's daddy is right, Massah Kyle was no child killer, nor did he rape
that boy, it was Massah Jacob that done did it, because I's saw him do it,"
she said and then placed her hand to her mouth, sorry that she had told
Jason. "Now you's just forgets about what ole Bessie just said," she
warned.
"Then why didn't you go to the sheriff and tell him what you saw," he
asked.
"Because I's black is why, ain't no white man gonna believe an old black
woman, not when she is speaking against a rich man like Massah Jacob. He's
don't know it boy, but old Bessie got the original will that Massah Kyle
wrote. He gave me a copy cuz he said he's was leaving me money so I's could
be free of doing chores for the white man," she said smiling and with tears
now clouding her eyes.
"I ain't gonna tell anyone your secret ma'am," he said, she nodded, smiled
and then left the room, frantically wringing her hands in worry.
Jason looked around the room and remembered when it was his room. The walls
were still the same, wallpapered with a cream colored paper which had tiny
pink and blue flowers on it. The carpet was rich and deep piled, in a soft
tone of beige. The furniture was mahogany and the room had two overstuffed
wing chairs in front of a window, with a marble top table between them.
"Well the furniture is different," he whispered, running his hand over the
well polished wood of a table.
Believing that Bessie was gone back to do her own chores, Jason stuck his
head out and looked down the hall, making doubly sure that she was gone.
"Now to find the room that is Jacob's bedroom," he whispered, and was just
stepping from the room when he heard a man's voice.
Hurrying back into the room, he looked around urgently, hoping to find a
place to hide. He remembered his closet and how large it was. With the
voices moving closer, he stepped inside the closet and closed the door
behind him, quietly. He was thankful that the doors were louvered, because
it allowed him to see into the bedroom, without anyone seeing him.
He stood still holding his breath as the bedroom door opened...
***
Earlier that same day...
It had been a few years since Kyle's death, and two since Jacob had last
seen Hawk, and he was feeling rather smug about himself and what he had
actually pulled off. He was standing at his desk, gazing out the window and
sipping wine from a long stemmed glass.
"Your one o'clock appointment has arrived sir," Davidson, his personal
butler announced.
"Please show him in Davidson, and make sure that we are not disturbed,"
Jacob replied, still looking out over the vast estate that he now owned.
"Mr. Mathews, Mr. Kevin Hawkins," Davidson announced, stepping back and
then leaving the two men alone.
"Awe, Mr. Hawkins, or would you prefer that I call you Kevin," Jacob asked,
shaking hands with the man. "How nice of you to have come at such a short
notice," Jacob said turning and gazing at the young man standing before
him.
"Kevin is fine sir, and I really did not have plans, so when you called, I
was available," Kevin said nervously, bothered by how Jacob was looking at
him.
"Please Kevin, please call me Jacob. After all, we are going to be working
together and at times, very closely," Jacob said smiling. "Now how old did
you say that you were?"
"I'm eighteen sir... excuse me, Jacob, but even though I am young, my
mother taught me her secretarial skills while I was growing up, so I assure
you Jacob that you are getting a well trained secretary."
"Ah...yes," he replied smugly, now letting his eyes rake over Kevin's body.
Kevin stood much shorter than Jacob, but he was boyishly handsome. He wore
his soft auburn hair cut to the collar and it was slightly ruffled from the
many cowlicks it had. His eyes were as green as an emeralds and when
exposed to light, they sparkled, and his nose straight. His jaw was square
with a slight cleft in his chin, which seemed perfectly matching the two
dimples that showed when he smiled.
Jacob let his gaze fall lower, noticing that even with his dark brown suit
coat and matching trousers, the man could not hide that he looked more
boyish than manly.
"So tell me a little about you, Kevin," Jacob said, pouring himself another
glass of port and also one for Kevin, which he handed to the lad.
"No thank you Jacob, but I don't partake of the spirits," Kevin said, but
Jacob again thrust the glass at him.
"Well you do now Kevin," he said insistently, standing and watching as he
took a small sip of the wine, his hands slightly trembling. "Good boy, now
as we were saying... tell me about your young life."
"Well there isn't much to tell, really. I was born and raised in
Mississippi, and until the war, my family always had a large cotton
plantation," he began.
"Did they own slaves also," Jacob eagerly asked.
"Yes sir, but once the war ended, most of them had run off. My daddy
decided that it was fruitless to try to maintain a plantation without
slaves, so he decided to go into politics. He got elected senator from
Mississippi and when he moved to Washington, he met my mother and married
her."
"Now I see, you are of that Mathews family, your daddy is the senior
senator from Mississippi," Jacob said, now associating the last name with
his most hated enemy.
Well that was because of Kyle's suicide, which Kevin's father never
believed for one minute that Kyle could had done such a thing, and he
always suspected that it had been Jacob. Because he couldn't prove it, he
had let his accusations lie only in his mind, hoping that someday, someone
would prove it. But that didn't stop him from confronting and openly
accusing Jacob one day when they had met in a bar, for it was then that he
had accused Jacob.
So as Kevin went rambling on about his life, Jacob sat back and half
listened because in his mind he was devising a sinister plan that would use
Kevin to not only get revenge against Kevin's father, Stanford, but would
also ruin the family's reputation.
'I can just see that old man's face when he finds out that not only is his
son a homosexual, but is my lover,' Jacob thought to himself, smiling
inwardly.
"So I guess that brings me up to when you met me, Jacob," Kevin finished
and so was his wine.
Jacob poured another glass for each of them and then talked about the job
that Kevin would be doing. Several glasses of wine later, and with Kevin
feeling the affects of the wine, Jacob knew it was now or never to put his
plan into action.
"Now as I said earlier Kevin, you will be living in my home, because I will
need you available whenever I have need," he said, glancing at the boy as
he teetered in the chair. "How about I show you to your room and you can
rest, I see that the wine has done a job on you."
"I never drank liquor before, much less wine Jacob," he slurred, standing
to his feet and staggering forward with Jacob catching him before he fell
to the floor.
"Whoa there kid, I guess you are a bit tipsy," Jacob laughed as he placed
his arm around Kevin's slender, girlish waist and led him from the
room. With great effort on Jacob's part, he finally got Kevin upstairs and
into the room that Jacob had assigned to him.
`This is going to be like stealing candy from a baby,' Jacob thought as he
lowered Kevin onto the bed.
He stepped back and took a deep breath before he began unbuttoning the
boy's shirt. He eased the shirt off him and moved his fingers to the
buttons of Kevin's breeches.
"What are you doing, Jacob," Kevin asked, grabbing his pants before Jacob
could slide them off him.
"I'm getting you ready for bed, because you surely don't want to get those
fine slacks wrinkled," Jacob replied.
"Bed...but it's still early afternoon," Kevin said, seeing the bright
sunlight shining through the window and when he tried to sit up, Jacob
eased him back down.
"Now just you relax and let me take care of you, Kevin. You had way too
much to drink," Jacob said with a soothing, yet demanding tone.
"But you were the one that gave me the wine, Jacob, so how can you accuse
me of drinking so much?"
"Now you just never mind about being under the influence, Kevin, I'm going
to take good care of you," Jacob said as he proceeded to remove Kevin's
pants, grabbing his boxers with them, and leaving the lad totally nude
before Jacob's eyes.
Kevin may have been drunk, but he was not stupid. He knew that something
was up, especially when Jacob began removing his own clothes and stood
there naked and smiling lustfully at him.
"Why did you take your clothes off?" a worried and scared Kevin asked.
"Well boy, after getting you ready for bed, it done wore me out, so I have
decided to join you for a nap."
"Then why not go to your own room," he asked, still worried and now seeing
desire in Jacob's eyes. "I really think that I should be going home sir,"
Kevin said as he again tried to get up, but Jacob had just finished
removing his own clothes and shoved him back down onto the bed forcefully,
and covered Kevin's body with his own.
"Now isn't this cozy, Kevin," Jacob whispered and then crushed Kevin's
mouth with his.
As Jacob heatedly kissed Kevin, Kevin struggled to get free, but found that
Jacob's arms were like a vice, holding him captive beneath him.
"Please don't do this to me Jacob... I don't want to do this," he begged,
but Jacob forced Kevin's legs apart with his knee.
Kevin pushed against Jacob's chest but to no avail, Jacob had a good thirty
pounds of pure muscle over him. He paled when Jacob lifted his legs and
with one hard thrust, impaled the boy with his cock.
Jason, who had been watching what, was happening from his hiding place,
felt like retching as he watched Jacob. It was obvious that Jacob was
raping Kevin and Jason could not, would not tolerate Jacob's doing this
again to an innocent person.
"Aaaaggggghhhhh stop... oh please don't... oh God you are hurting me,"
Kevin screamed.
Suddenly Jason burst from the closet no longer able to watch the rape, and
grabbed Jacob by the hair pulling him off of Kevin.
Kevin scurried back against the headboard, pulling his knees to his chest
and wrapping his arms tightly around them.
"What the..." Jacob yelled as he flew through the air, only to crash
against the bedroom door. "You... I know you, you're Shadow's son, Moon
something or other," he growled, pulling himself up and lunging toward
Jason.
Jason, being much younger, was faster and dodged Jacob's advancement. He
threw himself onto the bed, and when he turned to look at Jacob, he was
holding a gun, which he had hidden in a drawer in the table between the two
chairs and was now pointing it at the two boys.
"Now isn't this sweet, you protecting Kevin," Jacob said, watching how
Jason had placed his own body in front of Kevin, protectively.
"Let him go Jacob, he doesn't deserve to be raped by you, no more than
Billy did that day long ago," he said and he immediately regretted it.
"How did you hear about that, Billy and I were alone in that damn maze?" he
growled, now fearing that he had to kill, not only Jason, but also
Kevin. "It really doesn't matter, because neither of you will be around to
tell about it," he said laughing sadistically. "Now moved it," he snapped,
motioning with the gun toward the door.
"So you admit then... you did rape and murder Billy," Jason said again,
stalling for time as he eyed the acid that was near the fireplace.
"Yeah I killed him; I strangled him with my bare hands. I had too, because
he was going to tell his father how I had raped him. Damn, his ass was so
sweet and tight," Jacob said, looking off as if he were seeing Billy, naked
before him.
Jason took advantage of Jacob's momentary absence of mind and lunged off
the bed, rolled away and grabbed the bottle, throwing it toward Jacob,
causing Jacob's gun to go off.
Within minutes, Bessie rushed through the door, finding Jacob writhing on
the floor in pain, covered with the acid and Jason, lying against the
fireplace with blood flowing from his arm.
"Oh sweet Lord have mercy," she wailed, rushing to Jason, disregarding
Jacob and also Kevin. "I's going to call for the guard dear boy," she cried
after seeing that Jason had been wounded. She ran from the room and once
gone, Kevin rushed to kneel beside Jason.
"Are you all right?" he asked, pulling away the torn sleeve, seeing that it
was just a flesh wound.
"I'll survive Kevin... the bullet just grazed my arm, but damn, look at all
the blood," he said, gazing down at how severely his arm was bleeding.
Kevin grabbed his own shirt and after tearing a sleeve off, used it to make
a tourniquet. He secured it tightly around Jason's arm and when he saw that
the bleeding had stopped, he sat back on his legs, gasping for air.
"You'd better get dressed before Bessie and that guard arrives," Jason
warned, causing Kevin to hurry for his clothes, and when he had just
finished pulling on his breeches, Bessie, the guard and a doctor came
running into the room. The doctor had been talking with the guard when they
had heard the gunshot.
"What happened here," Martin, the guard, asked.
"I's caught Massah Jacob raping that there boy and hit him," Bessie lied,
glancing over at Jason and Kevin, hoping they would agree with her.
"Is that right boy," Martin asked, giving Kevin, who was wearing his
breeches, a hard look.
"Yes sir... he kept giving me wine, even though I told him that I didn't
drink, and when I was drunk, he took me upstairs here and raped me," Kevin
said, his face red from having to admit that a man had raped him.
"And just who is this kid," Martin growled, pointing down at Jason, who was
still sitting still beside the fireplace.
"Massah hired him to clean the bricks on the fireplaces, sir," Bessie lied
again.
They turned their attention to the doctor and Jacob; Doctor Bryant was just
covering Jacob's burned face with what was left of Kevin's shirt and
shaking his head. "He's dead, I reckon the pain was too much for him," the
doctor said as he rose to his feet.
"Then will someone tell me what the hell went on here that would have
caused his death," he pointed to Jacob, "and his having been shot?" Martin
shouted, as he turned eyes back to Kevin and Jason.
"I heard Kevin here screaming for help, so I came running into the room and
grabbed Jacob off of him," he said, giving Bessie a thankful look, but he
was not going to let her take the blame for what he had done.
"But I thought she..."
"No sir, I pulled Jacob off of Kevin, and when he held us both a gunpoint,
it was then that I lunged for the bottle of acid and threw it at him,"
Jason said interrupting and flinching when the doctor began cleaning his
wound.
"Is that how it happened, boy," Martin asked Kevin.
"Yes sir, just as he said, and I even have the blood to prove that Jacob
was raping me." Kevin lowered his pants and showed them the blood that was
not only covering his breeches, but was still oozing from his anal opening.
"My word son... you just lie back there and let me take care of that," the
doctor said and began pulling salves from his black bag.
"Would you go call for the sheriff," Martin said to Bessie and she hurried
from the room.
Martin scratched his head, this had been one long, hard day for him, and it
did not look like it would get any better.
"I want you all to stay put until the sheriff gets here," he instructed.
"The boy was raped, his anal cavity is torn to shreds by having been
penetrated by a man's penis," the doctor whispered to Martin, whose face
grimaced at the news.
"Damn doc... that is not right," Martin said, now he looked sympathetically
at Kevin, who was pulling up his breeches. "So not right," he added.
***
Having given their statements to the sheriff, who by the way was Billy's
uncle, Jason and Kevin sat in the kitchen with Bessie drinking a hot cup of
tea, trying desperately to calm their nerves.
Bessie grew quiet for a moment and then stood and dashed out of the room,
leaving Jason and Kevin alone.
"Why did you do it Jason?" Kevin asked, looking at Jason in the eyes.
"Do what... do you mean kill Jacob," he said. "I hated him for what he
caused my Uncle Kyle to do and also what he did to Billy," he said, but
Kevin was shaking his head.
"Not that Jason... why did you protect me with your body? You didn't know
me from Adam, so how come you placed your life in danger to protect the
life of a total stranger?"
"I don't know... I just felt that I didn't want anything to happen to you
Kevin, you looked so defenseless and vulnerable as you laid there on the
bed," he offered as an excuse, but somehow, Kevin knew that there was more
to it.
"Are you sure that there isn't more, Jason," Kevin quietly asked, stunning
Jason by the suddenness of his question.
"What more could there be and why would you ask me a question like that,
Kevin? Damn it man, I just saved you from being raped and killed and this
is how you thank me?"
Jason grabbed Kevin around the neck and pulled him to him in a heated
kiss. Kevin at first tried to push away, but as Jason's kiss deepened, he
wrapped his arms about Jason's waist and kissed him back.
"Mercy... what has we got here," Bessie said, causing the two boys to
suddenly pull apart, both of their faces reddening from having been
caught. "Now don't go getting yur breeches all twisted in a knot, I's
understand," she said chuckling. "I's got a brother that is in love with a
man also," she declared, hugging Jason and Kevin to her, endearingly.
"Then it doesn't bother you that I kissed Kevin," Jason asked, still
glowing from both having been caught and also from Kevin's kiss.
"No sugar, I's not bothered at all, unless Kevin didn't want to be kissed,"
she said smiling and before either could respond, she waved a paper at
Jason. "Now enough of that kissing stuff and takie a look at this," she
told him, shoving a legal document in front of him.
He picked it up and read the beginning lines, immediately; he recognized it
as his great-uncle's will.
"Where did you get this Miss Bessie," he asked, glancing from the document,
to her and then back at the document.
She explained how she had seen Jacob one day making a document just like
it, when Kyle was at congress.
"I was dusting about the room, but I's kept my eyes real watchful like on
what Massah Jacob was doing, and sure enough, when he's was finished with
the other document, he gave this one to me to burn in the kitchen stove."
"And he trusted you not read it?"
"I's cain't read or write Massah Jason, but I's know a legal document when
I's see one, cuz that looked much like the ownership papers that my daddy's
massah had concerning my daddy as his slave. So I hid `em in my drawer
where he's wouldn't find it and tossed some worthless papers into the
fire."
"This here is my uncle's will and it says that my uncle left all of his
worldly possessions to my father and his brother," Jason said. "I've got to
send a wire to my father; he is going to faint when he hears this."
Jason got up and ran from the room, leaving Kevin and Bessie sitting there
stunned, just looking at each other. Kevin stood up and was about to leave,
when Jason burst through the door.
"Don't you go anywhere Kevin... I love you," he confessed as he pulled
Kevin into his embrace and kissed him again. "Please wait for me, Kevin?"
he asked, kissed Bessie on the cheek and then dashed from the room.
Kevin was torn as to what to do; he had never been in love before, much
less with a man. How would his father take it... more so, what could such a
scandal do to his career? He had wondered, knowing that however he looked
at it, loving Jason just could not be.
"Miss Bessie, would you tell Jason when he gets back that I thank him for
what he did, but I must go home to my father," he said stepping to the
door.
"Oh please don't leave Massah Kevin, it'll break his heart," Bessie said,
going to the boy and taking his hand in hers.
"I must go... this could never work between Jason and I," he said and then
dropping her hand, he kissed her softly on her cheek and then left.
"I's know that you's surely be back sunshine... yep, I's surely do knows,"
she whispered.
***
Hawk and Shadow were sitting with their fathers, talking about Hawk's
indecision over which man that his heart wished to love, when Abe came
rushing into Strong Bear's cabin, waving the telegram frantically in the
air.
"Shadow... you have a telegram here from Jason," he blurted out, causing
both Shadow and Hawk to stand, both of their faces showing their concern.
It had been weeks since Jason had disappeared from his cabin, leaving just
a note saying that he was leaving to make all wrongs, right. Neither Shadow
nor Hawk had been able to understand what Jason had meant when he said `all
wrongs, right'.
Abe handed the telegraph to Shadow, he opened it and after he read what had
been written in the telegram, a broad smile crossed his mouth.
"That son of mine vindicated Uncle Kyle's name and Jacob is dead," he said
excitedly, hugging his brother Hawk.
"Is he in the white man's jail," Hawk asked.
"I doubt it, because how else would he have been able to send us this
wire," Shadow reasoned.
"Is there more, Shadow," Hawk anxiously asked.
"He also says that Kyle's maid gave him our uncle's original will where it
said that Kyle left everything to you and me, Hawk," he added with as much
excitement.
Hawk was so stunned; he sat down abruptly in his chair, shaking his head.
"I always knew that Golden Hawk had left his possessions and money to my
sons," Strong Bear said standing. "He had asked me before he left Montana
if he could, since he had no family of his own left to leave it to."
"Do you know what this means, Hawk?" Shadow asked.
"It means that we are going to go to Virginia," Hawk told him adamantly.
"Well yes Hawk that too... but what I meant was, we're rich beyond our
wildest dreams. No more worrying about food to keep us fed or living in a
small log cabin... we have a mansion waiting for us." Shadow's voice showed
his excitement.
"You have not even received the money and already the evils of wealth are
pulling at your heart, my brother," Hawk said sadly.
"Oh come on Hawk," Shadow growled. "I am just excited, that's all. I am
never going to let money do to me what it did to Jacob," Shadow said
promisingly.
"I shall return to Virginia with you, but once my legal duties are done, I
am returning here to my people. You can stay if you wish, but this brother
is content to live here, in a small log cabin and someday be chief of a
proud people," he announced, catching both Strong Bear and Yellow Hawk by
surprise with his statement.
"Truly my son, you are willing to take your rightful place and become the
next chief?" a tearful Strong Bear asked, his hands resting on Hawk's
shoulders.
"Ay-uh father, I shall be proud to be chief," he admitted and stepped into
Strong Bear's arms, embracing each other dearly.
"Go my sons and I will pray to the Great Spirit that this sudden wealth
does not change your hearts." Strong Bear stood proudly between his sons,
smiling at each one.
"Just think what we can do with such wealth, Hawk," Shadow said, not
feeling as excited as he did earlier.
"I shall use my share to better the lives of my people. I believe that we
should give much also to your son, for he has earned it for having avenged
Golden Hawk's name."
"There is a considerable amount of money Hawk, and I appreciate that you
would like to share it with Moon Shadow. Are you sure that this is what you
wish to do?"
"Ay-uh, I am more than sure, I do not want money to ever tarnish my heart
as it did to Jacob," he said, stepping forward and pulling Shadow into his
arms. "Be careful to guard your heart, Shadow, and not let this money ruin
you as it did him."
"This is why you will make a great chief, my brother, for you are wise in
so many ways, that I am not," Shadow admitted, returning his brother's hug.
"Come, it is a long trip and we need to make haste to secure passage on the
next train," Hawk said, and then worried about Flaming Arrow and Brad.
***
"I'm going with you Hawk; there is no way that I am staying here when you
are all the way across the country in Virginia. I lost you once while in
Virginia and by damn if I am going to lose you again," Flaming Arrow
adamantly said.
"Lose him... you don't have him to lose. Besides, have you forgotten that I
am the one that Hawk's promised to marry? After all Flaming Arrow, you did
divorce him," Brad said just as adamantly, reminding Flaming Arrow of the
divorce.
"Enough damn it, neither of you are going with us," Hawk shouted back,
causing them both to look startled at him. "Shadow and I are
going...alone," he pointed out to them, his arms crossed against his chest.
"But..." Flaming Arrow and Brad said in unison but Hawk interrupted them by
raising his hand.
"No buts... you are both staying here and that is the end of it." Hawk
turned and returned to his packing, chuckling to himself, reveling in the
fact that two men were fighting over him.
Brad and Flaming Arrow glared at one another and then Flaming Arrow left.
"Ay-uh Hawk, leave your precious Brad here alone," Flaming Arrow whispered
once outside the cabin. "I'll fix his ass and he'll be running for wherever
it is that he came from," he was now roaring with laughter as he hurried
off to his cabin.
Hawk had heard Flaming Arrow's laughter and it sent a cold chill racing
down his spine. He knew how much Flaming Arrow loved him, and he also knew
that he was capable of most anything if he thought that he was losing Hawk.
"I have changed my mind Brad, go and pack your things, you are going with
me," Hawk said, causing Brad to rush into Hawk's arms.
"Really Hawk, you want me to go with you?" he asked and then kissed Hawk.
"Yes sweetheart, I do want you to go with me. Not because I have chosen you
over Flaming Arrow, but because I do not trust leaving you here with him."
"What... you are only taking me because you are afraid that Flaming Arrow
might harm me?" a stunned Brad asked, stepping back and looking long and
hard at Hawk.
"Well that too babe, but..."
"As you said to us, no buts, you either love me and want me as your mate or
you don't. I have given you more than enough time to decide," he said and
turned away to leave, but turned back to face Hawk, once he reached the
door. "And don't think for one minute, that I don't know about your little
get togethers with Flaming Arrow."
Hawk's face grew red when he learned that he'd been caught.
"Yes Hawk, I know all about you and Flaming Arrow and how you two get
together in that cave by the waterfall and fuck your brains out."
"You have followed me Brad... this is what love is, you doubt and mistrust
me?"
"Damn right I don't trust you Hawk, but what is more important is how you
have not denied it," he said, fighting back the tears that threatened him.
Hawk hung his head in shame, because he knew that Brad was right about
everything. He loved Flaming Arrow more than his own life and it was
Flaming Arrow that Hawk truly wanted for a husband.
"You're right Bradley," Brad flinched when Hawk used his full name of
Bradley. "I do love Flaming Arrow more than you. He and I have been
together for so long and been through so much together. I am sorry to hurt
you this way, but when push comes to shove, my heart must choose Flaming
Arrow."
This was not what Brad had wanted to hear, and now his mind was racing in a
million directions, thinking of a way to change Hawk's mind.
"No babe... oh God don't do this to me. I love you so damn much Hawk and
I'm sorry that I got angry at you," he cried, almost begging Hawk not to
leave. "Please darling, give me... no, give us another chance," he was now
begging as he pulled Hawk into his arms.
Hawk calmed down and took another look at Brad, but he knew in his heart of
hearts, that it was still Flaming Arrow that he wanted.
"Don't Brad, don't humiliate yourself by begging. I love you Brad, but I
must be honest with myself and with you... I love Flaming Arrow more. Would
you really want me to stay with you, knowing that my heart belonged to
Flaming Arrow?"
"No Hawk, and I won't fight you anymore to keep you," he said and the left
the room.
Hawk started after him, but stopped, he knew that his heart wanted Flaming
Arrow and to go after Brad, would only delay the inevitable. He resumed his
packing with tears in his eyes. His heart jumped when he heard the closing
of the cabin door.
"I'm so sorry Brad... truly I am," he whispered as he fell down on his bed,
crying.
***
Brad stood on the front porch thinking, `What now, what am I to do with my
life?' not noticing Shadow as he approached.
"A penny for your thoughts," Shadow asked, seeing how deep in thought Brad
was.
"Huh... what did you say?" Brad asked, coming away from his thoughts and
back to the present.
"You were so deep in thought, I just asked..." he stopped when he saw how
red Brad's eyes were, thinking that he been crying because Brad was going
to miss Hawk. "He'll be back before you know it," he said, hoping to ease
whatever pain he was feeling.
"I'm going to be going also, but I will not be coming back. You see Shadow,
Hawk chose Flaming Arrow over me as the man that he wants to share his life
with."
"You are... he did?" he repeated happily.
"Well don't be so excited about it, because it is tearing me apart," Brad
snapped, walking down the steps and when he got beside Shadow, Shadow
grabbed him, turning Brad to face him.
"Do you know why this humble Choctaw man is happy... do you Brad?" he asked
and Brad shook his head. "It's because I have fallen in love with you and
now I can have hope that someday you will love me also," he confessed
before pulling Brad into his arms and kissing him.
"You do... but why didn't you ever tell me?" Brad questioned Shadow, still
clinging to him.
"Because you belonged to my brother, and we Choctaw do not go after someone
that belongs to another. I know that you are hurting inside, and I don't
want you to feel that you have to give me a response, but just consider
what I have told you... will you?" he asked and kissed him again before
dashing into his brother's cabin.
Brad stood there stunned, his hand gently touching his lips, and still
feeling Shadow's lips on them. When he noticed that others were staring at
him, he hurried away to the cabin that he had been living in with a spring
to his step.
***
Now healed from his ordeal with Jacob, Kevin stood looking out of his
bedroom window, thinking. It had been several weeks since the kiss that
Jason had given him and said that he loved him. He had gone back to his
father's house to recover, and more importantly to think.
A soft knock on the door caused him to turn... "Come in," he said and his
face lighted up when Jason stepped into the room.
"Jason... what are you doing here?" he asked, stunned to see the handsome
young man standing there and smiling at him, with two dozen red roses in
his hand.
To be continued...
Your comments are great appreciated at danielrunningwater@yahoo.com
Thank you all so much.
Daniel